
When
Wed 12 Nov 2025
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Deling’s controversial underground classic, covering a single night in the life of four drug addicts in search of a hit and some excitement, is one of the quintessential Melbourne films, painting an extraordinarily vivid portrait of the hyped-up inner suburban metropolis.
Criticised by many for advocating drug taking, and infamously labelled as “the most evil film I’ve ever seen” by The Herald, it remains one of the most dynamic films ever made in Australia. Featuring Gary Waddell, Max Gillies, Greg Pickhaver and Helen Garner.
Preceded by Struttin’ the Mutton Peter Tammer (1975) 17 mins – Unclassified 15+. Tammer’s extraordinary observational portrait of three men on an inner suburban Melbourne street in the mid-’70s provides a fascinating dissection of Australian masculinity.
Print of Pure Shit courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive, Australia.
Print of Struttin’ the Mutton courtesy of ACMI Collections.
About Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.
